Sponge Bob's Diddle Shop, 2007, Recycling, HMP Haverigg. Photo: Marcus J Leith
From the 12th July to the 9th September, the ICA in London is holding this exhibition, "Insider Art", which is contributed to by thousands of prisoners and youth detention inmates. The exhibition is part of the Koestler Awards Scheme which promotes creativity throughout the criminal justice system in the UK.
Had the distinct pleasure of meeting and interviewing (for UKAdapta) the Rockgroup crew comprising of Graff artists She-One and O.Two last week at Cargo over two seperate nights. The interview was hilarious to do as we were all in good spirits and they had some briliiant answers to give us. I look forward to sharing it with you guys on the UKAdapta site next month sometime.
She-One was live painting for an event called Planet Patrol Sessions, sponsored by Boombox records.
O.Two was live painting for a charity auction event called "Evolving Styles".
It was such a shame that ESPV couldn't make it down to the event this year....Loads of one-off custom toy goodness on exhibit, as well as all the cosplay-heads showing off their look. It's usually a great day out and theres always plenty to buy. How was it this year? Anybody go?
Perfect for that Monday morning coffee vibe: Designed by Swiss designer Carlo Borer, the cover of Etienne Louis machine is a steel sphere while the spikes and the supports are crafted from polished aluminum. The removable water tank is concealed under the detachable upper half of the sphere. Pricing for this strange looking coffee machine is unknown but they must be charging some good amount for this brilliant steampunk design.
Six buildings have been shortlisted for the 2007 Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) Stirling Prize for architecture and the winner will receive a cheque for £20,000. All the buildings are unique on their own and show different approaches to contemporary design. The winner will be selected by a five-person Riba Stirling Prize jury and will be announced on 6 October.
Casa De Musica Concert Hall in Porto.
The America's Cup Building and park in the Spanish port of Valencia.
The Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach am Neckar.
Dresden railway station.
The Savill Building visitor centre in Windsor Great Park
For me, the only time that I can remember Mickey Mouse being violent or scary was in the 1995 movie entitled, "Runaway Brain": In an attempt to convince Minnie that he hasn't forgotten to buy her an anniversary present, Mickey Mouse ends up promising to take her to Hawaii. Funds being short, he applies for a job as lab assistant to the sinister Dr. Frankenollie, who happens to be searching for a donor to provide his monstrous creation with a brain....the rest of the movie involves monstrous mice running amok!
I wish Disney would have licensed out more of this kind of alternative character plot. Seeing a Count Donald Duckula or a Goofy Zombie would be amazing!
The toys come very highly-prized on my wishlist. Both the original Disney release and the Span of Sunset version really capture the grotesque-ness of Mickey.....
Awe-inspiring walls on Kensington St, Brighton. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing them in person, except from what I've seen on Flickr. There are some seriously amazing pieces there and it apparently is refreshed on a regular basis. I particularly liked the Tron concept; the lines/colors were so clean and well painted. Absolutely gorgeous! The other great thing is that as more artists paint new pieces, the background becomes more and more cluttered giving a great chaotic and busy effect!
A huge shout-out to Aroe, Odisy, Rat, Sion, Nylon and Aagh!
The State of New York has officially announced its recognition of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the South Bronx as the birthplace of hip-hop and as an eligible historic landmark. 1520 Sedgwick Avenue is home to a community room where the father of hip-hop, DJ Kool Herc, played in during the 1970s. The site, however, has been closed for renovations since last year, prompting hip-hop and community organizers to make a bid to have the location honored as a landmark. According to the New York State Office, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue “meets the eligibility criteria being that it is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad pattern of our history.”
A flier promoting a performance by D.J. Kool Herc in the recreation room at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue on Aug. 11, 1973.
The 62,000 Swarovski crystals studded Hello Kitty Maneki Neko Doll is currently sold at 8 million yen, equaling to US$66,115, in Hello Kitty Selection event of Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo. Maneki Neko is a good money fortune symbol in Japan. Will the Hello Kitty craze ever let off?
For those of you who haven't seen this French street artist before; here you go! Mecha-goodness from the amazingly talented Duster132. The detail that goes into his paste-ups/pieces is a wonderful sight to behold.
The Burj Dubai has reached the 141st storey, with a height of 512 meters and it has overtaken Taiwan's 508-meter-tall "Taipei 101" and become the world's tallest building. The Burj Dubai sets to be the Symbol of Dubai by standing at more than 693 meters once it is completed in the oil rich Gulf state at the end of 2008.
This is an artist's rendition of the completed building in 2008:
One of the more unusual and original toys at this year's San Diego Comic-Con:
Originally based on his Fish Head painting, (above) - which is also available as a 13X13 print @ Munky King's booth in an edition of 50 (@ estimated US$60?) I personally think that the realisation work by the sculptor from 2D to it's 3D glory will make this a sure buy for my heaving shelves.
That's right ladies and gentlemen! So common is this voyeuristic sickness that researchers and scientists are shoving more money than they can handle into ladies knickers! I say stop making such advanced camera equipment... then all uf us can be safe in the knowledge that someone isn't watching! Bravo Bravo
The following words are by Brian Ashcraft from the original post:
"For years, schoolgirls have had to be vigilant about jerks with cameras trying to get a panchira (panty-glimpse) up their skirts. But they have an even creepier problem now: Clever degenerates are modifying their videocam's night-vision mode to see right through fabric, revealing all. Enter textile company Cramer Japan, which has developed a nylon and polyurethane weave that blocks infrared rays. The result? ShotGuard Inner Shorts, panties that are impervious to pervs. Adding to the deterrent is that the $17 underwear is available only in a fetish-stifling beige. Next up for Cramer: voyeur-resistant bras."
Probably the world’s oldest graffiti artist, dubbed the "King Of Kowloon" has sadly passed away at the ripe old age of 85. The man was famous in Hong Kong for his bombing style which consisted of densely-packed, obssesive Chinese script arranged in neat lines and scrawled over phone boxes and the sides of pedestrian underpasses.
“The contents of the calligraphy usually contain some or all of the following: his name, his title (King or Emperor of China, Kowloon or Hong Kong, depending); a list of 20 or so ancestors, with new additions from time to time; the names of some famous Chinese emperors and phrases such as, ‘Down with the Queen of England.’” Apparently, the King of Kowloon actually believes he is the king of Kowloon.
Tsang Tsou Choi was thirty-five when he started covering Kowloon with assertions that he was its rightful owner. That was in 1955. Tsang said that, as a young man, he stumbled across a set of documents that indicated that most of Kowloon was owned by his ancestors, before it was ceded to the British in 1860, after the end of the Second Opium War. Of course, none of these documents have ever been proven to exist. That has never deterred Tsang, whose obsession with proving himself as the King of Kowloon drove away his wife and family and earned him a few brief stints in jail.
In a city that until recently was devoted almost entirely to the individual pursuit of wealth, the King’s persistent eccentricity drew attention. He was relentless in his work: if any of his graffiti was painted over, as it frequently was, Tsang would return as soon as the paint dried to scrawl something anew. In the 1990s, a new generation of creative-minded Hong Kongers embraced the King as an “outsider artist” whose minimal literacy and lack of self-consciousness gave him the freedom to reinterpret Chinese writing. AsiaWeek reports that his unique calligraphy has inspired “fashion designers, interior designers and CD cover artists.” In 2003, Tsang was featured in the 50th Venice Biennial. In 2004, a piece of wood he painted fetched US$1,100 at an auction.
Hong Kong may be famously known for skyscrapers, good food and kung-fu action stars; but for the ESPV Team, the King Of Kowloon will forever remain in our hearts as an inspiration to the perserverance of one's art. Rest In Peace Tsang Tsou Choi.
